What does the term "navigational hazards" refer to?

The term "navigational hazards" specifically refers to obstacles in the water that can pose risks to vessels, such as submerged rocks, reefs, wrecks, or other objects that may not be immediately visible. These hazards can endanger safety, lead to collisions, or cause grounding. Ensuring safe navigation requires constant awareness of these hazards and taking appropriate precautions to avoid them. Other factors like weather conditions, distance from shore, and speed of the vessel are important for safe operations but do not fall under the direct definition of navigational hazards, which primarily concerns physical obstacles in navigation channels or bodies of water.